A ROOM FULL OF TALENT
8/11/2019 5:17:00 PM | Football
Jackson Pleased With Deep Receiving Corps
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Marques Jones has been in the receiver room with a Biletnikoff Award winner, two NFL Draft picks and five of the top 20 receivers in program history.
The fifth-year senior believes this year's Baylor group is better.
"This is a special room we have right here," said Jones, a former walk-on who had 21 catches for 242 yards and two touchdowns last season. "Just depth-wise, we have like 15 receivers, and they can all play at this level. And speed-wise, it's definitely the fastest receiver room I've ever been in."
Second-year receivers coach Frisman Jackson has such an embarrassment of riches at the position that he's "just trying to find eight guys that can go out there and compete and we can roll through and not miss a beat with any guy that's out there."
The "alpha dog" in the room is Denzel Mims, a senior who's made 116 catches for 1,881 yards and 16 touchdowns over the last two seasons. A 1,000-yard receiver and second-team All-Big 12 pick as a sophomore, Mims' numbers dropped last year with the emergence of Hurd as more of the go-to receiver.
"This is his last run, and he has to get it done," Jackson said of Mims. "I just see a renewed sense of energy in him, passion, something that I didn't see when I got here last year out of him. I'm seeing a guy that knows he's the alpha dog and he's acting like it so far this camp. . . . I think for him, it's his contract year, and you can see the difference in how he's responding to things."
Jones and Chris Platt are the other scholarship seniors on the roster, with the NCAA granting Platt a sixth year of eligibility. He's had double-digit catches each of the last four years and goes into his senior season with 98 catches for 1,634 yards and 11 TDs.
Coming back from an ACL injury that derailed a great start to his junior season in 2017, Platt was third on the team last year with 36 receptions for 511 yards and one touchdown.
"We said this last year, but he understands that this is it," Jackson said. "He came back because he wanted an opportunity to win a championship, he wanted an opportunity to compete, he wanted an opportunity to help himself put some good tape on film to get an opportunity to play in the NFL."
Named Baylor's Engineering Student of the Year, Jones is clearly "the smartest guy in the room."
"All the guys in the room know that he's one of the smartest students in the school," Jackson said. "He's reliable, dependable, he's never on any lists for anything. He's always on time and he's smart as heck. He can play any position on the field for us. And the guys see that. I constantly use Marques as an example for the guys. Marques doesn't say much, but when he speaks the guys listen."
Jones, who completed a 3.94 GPA in electrical and computer engineering in May 2019, said the seniors have to "show those young guys how we do it around here at Baylor, whether that's on the field, off the field, in terms of recovery, lifting, stuff like that. It's definitely a big responsibility for us to show the young guys how to work."
That group of young receivers includes sophomores Tyquan Thornton and Josh Fleeks, who combined for 34 catches for 480 yards and four TDs last season.
"They've got to continue to develop, continue to do things the right way, how we want them done here at Baylor," Jackson said of Thornton and Fleeks. "And they're doing those things. You saw some flashes today. They made a couple plays, some plays we expect them to make in the fall. If they continue to develop and continue to be accountable and continue to do the things that we want them to do as a program and as an offense, they have a bright future ahead of themselves."
Jackson also likes what he's seen from junior Jared Atkinson, sophomore R.J. Sneed and redshirt freshman Jackson Gleeson.
"R.J. Sneed has had a phenomenal camp," Jackson said. "He's catching the heck out of the football, he's running routes, he's competitive. The guys are hyped because he's jumping up over people making plays. So, he's really making a name for himself and he's earned himself a gold jersey (with the No. 1 offense). If he continues to keep working and grinding like that, he'll push those other guys."
Instituted for the first time during fall camp, the gold jersey is a reward for being part of the No. 1 offense. "And we'll change them every day," Jackson said. It's based on their performances in practice and doing everything right, on and off the field.
"When we first started, I didn't have one," said Jones, who was wearing a gold jersey in Saturday's scrimmage. "Once you have it, you're like, 'Either I can relax or keep working to keep the jersey.' I definitely think it's a cool idea. The defense has been doing that since the spring with the black jerseys. It's definitely cool to bring it to the offense."
Joining the returning players are a trio of freshman recruits – Jaylen Ellis, Peyton Powell and Yusuf Terry. A native of Philadelphia, Pa., Terry was a second-team all-state pick as a senior and was rated the No. 6 player overall in the state of Pennsylvania by ESPN.
"His biggest thing is he's got to learn what to do. I can't be on the field yelling to him, 'Hey, you've got a curl. You've got a comeback,''' Jackson said of the 6-3 Terry. "He's got to put time in outside of the meeting room. He's got to put time in when he has a break in the schedule. . . . His play won't be the reason why he won't play. It's going to be whether he is able to retain information and go execute that information when we need him to. So far, he's up and down with it, but he's a freshman and that's understandable."
The Bears had Sunday off and will resume workouts Monday in preparation for the Aug. 31 season opener against Stephen F. Austin. For single-game and season tickets, go to www.baylorbears.com/bthere.
Baylor Bear Insider
Marques Jones has been in the receiver room with a Biletnikoff Award winner, two NFL Draft picks and five of the top 20 receivers in program history.
The fifth-year senior believes this year's Baylor group is better.
"This is a special room we have right here," said Jones, a former walk-on who had 21 catches for 242 yards and two touchdowns last season. "Just depth-wise, we have like 15 receivers, and they can all play at this level. And speed-wise, it's definitely the fastest receiver room I've ever been in."
Second-year receivers coach Frisman Jackson has such an embarrassment of riches at the position that he's "just trying to find eight guys that can go out there and compete and we can roll through and not miss a beat with any guy that's out there."
The "alpha dog" in the room is Denzel Mims, a senior who's made 116 catches for 1,881 yards and 16 touchdowns over the last two seasons. A 1,000-yard receiver and second-team All-Big 12 pick as a sophomore, Mims' numbers dropped last year with the emergence of Hurd as more of the go-to receiver.
"This is his last run, and he has to get it done," Jackson said of Mims. "I just see a renewed sense of energy in him, passion, something that I didn't see when I got here last year out of him. I'm seeing a guy that knows he's the alpha dog and he's acting like it so far this camp. . . . I think for him, it's his contract year, and you can see the difference in how he's responding to things."
Jones and Chris Platt are the other scholarship seniors on the roster, with the NCAA granting Platt a sixth year of eligibility. He's had double-digit catches each of the last four years and goes into his senior season with 98 catches for 1,634 yards and 11 TDs.
Coming back from an ACL injury that derailed a great start to his junior season in 2017, Platt was third on the team last year with 36 receptions for 511 yards and one touchdown.
"We said this last year, but he understands that this is it," Jackson said. "He came back because he wanted an opportunity to win a championship, he wanted an opportunity to compete, he wanted an opportunity to help himself put some good tape on film to get an opportunity to play in the NFL."
Named Baylor's Engineering Student of the Year, Jones is clearly "the smartest guy in the room."
"All the guys in the room know that he's one of the smartest students in the school," Jackson said. "He's reliable, dependable, he's never on any lists for anything. He's always on time and he's smart as heck. He can play any position on the field for us. And the guys see that. I constantly use Marques as an example for the guys. Marques doesn't say much, but when he speaks the guys listen."
Jones, who completed a 3.94 GPA in electrical and computer engineering in May 2019, said the seniors have to "show those young guys how we do it around here at Baylor, whether that's on the field, off the field, in terms of recovery, lifting, stuff like that. It's definitely a big responsibility for us to show the young guys how to work."
That group of young receivers includes sophomores Tyquan Thornton and Josh Fleeks, who combined for 34 catches for 480 yards and four TDs last season.
"They've got to continue to develop, continue to do things the right way, how we want them done here at Baylor," Jackson said of Thornton and Fleeks. "And they're doing those things. You saw some flashes today. They made a couple plays, some plays we expect them to make in the fall. If they continue to develop and continue to be accountable and continue to do the things that we want them to do as a program and as an offense, they have a bright future ahead of themselves."
Jackson also likes what he's seen from junior Jared Atkinson, sophomore R.J. Sneed and redshirt freshman Jackson Gleeson.
"R.J. Sneed has had a phenomenal camp," Jackson said. "He's catching the heck out of the football, he's running routes, he's competitive. The guys are hyped because he's jumping up over people making plays. So, he's really making a name for himself and he's earned himself a gold jersey (with the No. 1 offense). If he continues to keep working and grinding like that, he'll push those other guys."
Instituted for the first time during fall camp, the gold jersey is a reward for being part of the No. 1 offense. "And we'll change them every day," Jackson said. It's based on their performances in practice and doing everything right, on and off the field.
"When we first started, I didn't have one," said Jones, who was wearing a gold jersey in Saturday's scrimmage. "Once you have it, you're like, 'Either I can relax or keep working to keep the jersey.' I definitely think it's a cool idea. The defense has been doing that since the spring with the black jerseys. It's definitely cool to bring it to the offense."
Joining the returning players are a trio of freshman recruits – Jaylen Ellis, Peyton Powell and Yusuf Terry. A native of Philadelphia, Pa., Terry was a second-team all-state pick as a senior and was rated the No. 6 player overall in the state of Pennsylvania by ESPN.
"His biggest thing is he's got to learn what to do. I can't be on the field yelling to him, 'Hey, you've got a curl. You've got a comeback,''' Jackson said of the 6-3 Terry. "He's got to put time in outside of the meeting room. He's got to put time in when he has a break in the schedule. . . . His play won't be the reason why he won't play. It's going to be whether he is able to retain information and go execute that information when we need him to. So far, he's up and down with it, but he's a freshman and that's understandable."
The Bears had Sunday off and will resume workouts Monday in preparation for the Aug. 31 season opener against Stephen F. Austin. For single-game and season tickets, go to www.baylorbears.com/bthere.
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